A Student Contracts Coronavirus in Porvoo After the School Returns to Contact Teaching

A student in Linnajoki School in Porvoo has been contracted with COVID-19, the City of Porvoo tells in a statement.

A view over the river in Porvoo. Picture: Riccardo Romano/Flickr

A total of 17 students and four teachers have been exposed to the virus and are now in home quarantine.

“The coronavirus situation has been good in Porvoo, but during the last couple of weeks the situation has begun to change, and the infections and especially the number of those who have been exposed to the virus have started to increase faster than before,” says Medical Director Kati Liukko of Porvoo.

Linnajoki School has about 550 students in classes 7 to 9. The school returned to contact teaching on May 14, following the government’s ruling to open comprehensive schools for two weeks.

“The coronavirus has not disappeared, even as restrictions are being lifted,” says Ann-Sofie Silvennoinen, the director of social and health services in Porvoo.

To combat further infections, the school will resort to extra cleaning during the weekend. The safety protocol, which includes avoiding close contact and increased handwashing, is going to be repeated to all students and personnel on Monday.

Porvoo, the southern city of about 50,000 inhabitants and located about 50 kilometers from Helsinki, has so far had 53 coronavirus infections.